The Bachelorette's Disease
by CeejofLondon
Summary: Here you have it Peeps - Dean and Sam do the Bachelorette, um, by that I mean they go undercover on the show. Something weird is happening on the set of the show. It started last season on The Bachelor, will it continue?  Read on to find out..
1. Chapter: Prologue

**A/N:** So, my friend, let's call her _Fanfictionista_, had an idea for a story – Brilliant really! And so, I must note that though I have written this story and am in the process of writing this story, the original idea is hers. Together we plotted the skeleton for this story and she has privileged me with using her editorial gifts on my submissions.

This story is set in Season Two between _Simon Said _and _No Exit_. It is canon. This story brings together the awesomeness that is _Supernatural_ and the horror which a nation of voyeurs can experience on _The Bachelorette._ It features Dean and Sam Winchester.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Supernatural_ or Dean and Sam Winchester, but thank you Kripke for birthing these boys – we love you for it! I do not own _The Bachelorette._ We do, however, claim all other characters in this story as our own.

**PROLOGUE:**

Dear Diary,

I am going to start from the beginning.

A year and a half ago, Cate and Anna thought it would be a good idea to submit an application on my behalf to _The Bachelor_. Having been my best friends since grade three, they were concerned about the fact that I hadn't found a man yet. Bless them, really. I was only 24 at the time, the world wasn't ending. But, the reality is they submitted the application and I was chosen, to my utter astonishment!

Ryan Wexler was an amazing guy! And I actually made it to the final four. But, because I wanted to stay true to my principles, I left after that particular date night. I couldn't come to terms with spending the night with a man who had three other girlfriends. I understand the concept of _The _Bachelor, but being _intimate_ with more than one person contradicts my understanding of how relationships work _and _what I believe I deserve in a partner. Am I wrong in this? Because I never understood how a person could, um, _be _with several people at the same time? If Ryan had loved me, he would have respected me for that stance, right? He would have had me stay instead of allowing me to leave of my own volition. Maybe I am a prude? But, I think this will serve me well? In the end, the reality is that Ryan let me go, and a year later, I see that that was for the best. But, the reason I write this entry is not to reminisce about his rejection, but to re-visit those days leading up to my leaving _The Bachelor_.

You see, Diary, I have been chosen to return as this year's Bachelorette. I had wrestled over the offer, not sure if I wanted to put my love life on public display again. But, those devils who sit on my shoulder (namely Anna and Cate) wouldn't let it go. So, I figured, one more shot and then I can blend my way back into obscurity, where I would prefer to live out my days. It wasn't just the public purview that had me concerned it was what had happened to Chantrell Kapowski, Kerry Dennison and Jennifer Richardson that really has me worried. Those were the oddest three weeks of my life.

Let me explain:

Chantrell, was probably one of the sweetest people I have ever met. She was your quintessential southern belle. Given that she was sweet and one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen, it was easy to see why a few of the girls were smitten with her as well. But, I digress, it was about week four, and Chantrell had been chosen to go on a one on one date with Ryan. While she was applying the finishing touches to her make-up the girls who were left behind on this particular evening were having a chin wag in the living room. About ten minutes before her pick up, we heard Chantrell screaming from the upstairs bathroom. We all jumped and ran upstairs. To our astonishment we found her, arms flailing violently while she ran in circles. It took us a few minutes to realize what the issue was: her face. In the place of what had been a Clinique cover girl cover page was a massive hard red and black mask; what looked like….a scab. Her mouth was partially covered so we had difficulty in understanding what she said. But we found out later that it was in fact, technically a scab that had grown over her entire face. She had been rushed to hospital and survived, but was required to undergo about 20 facial surgeries. All of the girls who were left were freaked. There had been no explanation as to why this had happened to Chantrell. Indeed, could there be? But, the show, in the interest of the viewing public (and I am sure a small profit) declared it would continue on and wishing the very best for Chantrell.

Now, having one weird-o incident happen, okay, I guess we can give the universe a pass on that, but two? Next was Kerry Dennison, Ryan's obvious favourite choice on the show. And why shouldn't she be? A nice farm girl from Iowa, an animal vet and family oriented; really what Ryan should have gone for instead of the snobbish socialite Amanda Wentworth. I think for those two it was the fact that both their last names started with Ws that was the final sign they were 'meant to be.' I think they have broken up now. I could have called that! Again, rabbit trail, sorry – back to Kerry. Well, it wasn't a date day or anything like that, but when Kerry had woken up about a week after the Chantrell incident, she couldn't move her legs. Her feet and knees were swollen to unbelievable sizes. As a nurse I was pretty sure it was gout. Everyone else thought I was crazy, because "don't only gross old men get gout?" some Einstein from Florida had asked me. As the day progressed Kerry's wrists and hands swelled up as well. They brought in a doctor who, funnily enough diagnosed her with gout! Hmph! Told you Einstein! What was strange is that gout is linked to diet and Kerry was a vegan – health freak, really. Low sodium and lots of fruit and veg. She should never have been a candidate for gout? Again – _weird_!

Right, that's not it though Diary. This one is weird too, and a little scary, let me explain. I had made pancakes for myself one morning about two weeks after Kerry left for hospital. I felt like them and offered to make them for others. The three of the remaining four ladies all declined; watching their waist line or some garbage like that! I'm not sure where Jennifer was when I offered. So, I made up my grandmother's recipe (to die for – literally as you will find out). Sitting at the island counter in the kitchen about to take my first bite, Jennifer walks in and has the nerve to say: "Are you sure you need those Gordon?" I couldn't stand that bitch, she was so snooty. An up and coming actress (she thought) who was biding her time as a PA for some Hollywood studio before her big break.

"My name is Paige," I reminded her, though I knew she knew that and was just trying to get a rise out of me. Bitch!

"Sorry, _Paige_," she emphasised my name, "But, with your, shall we say Monronesque figure, the last thing you need are carbs, Dahling." She was so pretentious. I was still baffled why Ryan kept her here.

The thing is Diary, she got to me. I have always been a healthy girl, size 12-14 was always my lot. I have curves, boobs and an ass, so sue me. And I liked to eat. But skinny minney over there got me. I felt insecure and overly large standing next to her. I stopped with the fork and placed it back on the plate.

Jennifer looked at me, "Oh, you're not going to eat that? Let me," she said with a smirk. Before I had a chance she grabbed the plate from in front of me and started chomping on my grandma's pancakes. As I watched her my anger turned to horror as she dropped the cutlery and started stuffing the pancakes into her mouth. She stuffed all 15 pancakes in. She looked at me with wild eyes then. I could tell something was off. She pushed past me to the refrigerator and flung open the door. She grabbed whatever was in sight and stuffed it down her gullet. I was in utter shock, I have never seen someone so crazed before. I didn't know what to do. I screamed for the other girls. I needed back up.

"Jennifer," I said, "Jen, what's going on? Don't you think you should stop?"

She turned to me eyes darting back and forth, hair stuck to her face and laden with food bits. Her mouth was covered in some sort of cream and green vegetable protruded from her mouth. She waved a raw piece of beef at me and growled. She turned from me to stuff the raw meat into her mouth.

Yah, something was definitely off.

I ran at her to grab her, hoping the other girls would back up that move. As I reached around her to get a hold on her she struggled trying to wrest her arms from underneath mine. Man she was strong for a skinny bitch. We stood wrestling like that for what seemed hours until Jen stopped and went limp in my arms. I backed up to lay her gently on the floor. When looking at her I could see her lips were blue and her eyes glazed. You are kidding me, I thought. I pressed my index and middle finger to her pulse – nothing. I started to remove the half masticated meat from her mouth to see if she was breathing. Nothing…at that point the other girls came running in on the scene and within seconds were screaming holy hell.

Later, we were told the cause of death was from a burst stomach. Jennifer had eaten herself to death. It was then I knew something wasn't kosher. Jen was not an over-eater, she had always been controlled around food. To eat herself to death in the span of 15 minutes was unthinkable.

So there we have it. Two off-coloured accidents and one death on a show that is meant to bring love to the nation? Diary, have I made the right decision to return? I think giving love another shot is a good idea and Cate and Anna will kill me if I back out now! But I swear to Zeus, there was something 'other-worldly' going on. Truth be told, I am scared. Those pancakes that Jen ate were _my _pancakes. That could have been me? Was I the real target? If I go back will I be targeted again?

I've spoken to Jason Hutchins, the assistant producer on the show and he has assured me that all precautions are being put into place. I don't know, I've called Mom and Charlie, they say I should go for it and not to worry. I'm not so sure…


	2. Chapter: 25 Dudes and a Lady

**A/N:** Here is the first Chapter (of many I now realise) of _The Bachelorette's Disease._ I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I did writing it. I realised it was basically impossible to try and encapsulate this story into 12 Chapters. I hope to give a fuller perspective by writing some Chapters from varying perspectives. This one is mostly from Dean-o's perspective. Slightly sulky, but awesome Dean(I tried), nonetheless. Please, if you have a chance, do review this. I like to know what people think. Until Chapter Two, Peace out!

**Disclaimer:** Just to note I do not own _Supernatural_ or _The Bachelorette_.

Chapter One:

"This sucks out loud, Sammy!" Dean moaned, "the last thing I need is to hang out in close quarters with 23 dudes I don't know! We've got demons to hunt!"

Sam smirked, "Did you consider Dean that on this particular job, there is a hot chick looking for love?"

Dean's ears perked up and he turned to his brother, "Dude, I forgot! Ooh and I'm the perfect man to comfort her if anything scary were to happen," wiggling his eyebrows. "But man, those shows, I mean 'reality' TV, give me a break. They will have everything arranged already." Dean scowled, though the thought of staring at a hot ass for 10 weeks was intriguing. He smirked to himself, oh yah, she would totally pick him; I mean what chick wouldn't pick Dean Winchester with his winsome smile, boyish good looks and grab-able ass.

The Winchester boys were just putting the final items into their respective bags before the limo was to pick them up from their _hotel_. Earlier Dean had remarked how, maybe it was actually awesome that they were heading to this Girl on Girl show or Naked Dance Fest or whatever it was, as they had already had an upgrade in their accommodation! Sam had laughed. He did enjoy hearing his brother's take on things, well, sometimes.

They had arrived at The Grafton hotel on Sunset Boulevard early yesterday morning. A friend of Rufus', a Jason Hutchins, after procuring Dean's number from Rufus, had been in touch with Dean. We may have a 'situation' on our hands, _your _kind of situation, Hutchins had said. He went on to explain that on the last season of _The _Bachelor, two girls got mysteriously sick and one girl actually died from 'over-eating'. Dean didn't really think there was anything strange about that situation, 'didn't Hollywood chicks binge all the time?' he had asked.

But, Sam as usual, pointed out that all the other contestants felt like something weird was going on, especially this year's bachelorette, Paige Gordon. She felt she had been the intended murder victim. Hutchins had been in touch with Paige several times to qualm her nerves about revisiting the set of the show. Dean had finally been convinced, grunted his consent and here they were in Hollywood!

They had arrived at _The Bachelorette _Mansion about 2pm to get settled into their rooms. Then, at 4pm they had to get ready and leave the mansion for their grand entrance and introduction to Paige.

Walking up the Steps, Sam opened the door to the mansion. Dean followed Sam in.

"Sammy, get a load of this place," Dean whispered in hushed awe. Head thrown all the way back and mouth agape, he gawked at the trimmings of the mansion as a worshipper would upon entering St. Peter's Basilica. A few times he almost knocked over a table and vase; his repetitive turning, eyes on ceiling was getting old.

"Dean," Sam said loudly, "we are supposed to get our stuff unpacked. And I would like a chance to give the house a once over to see if I find anything weird: curses, spells, occultic stuff. You in?," Sam asked, whispering the last half of his sentence for fear someone may overhear.

Dean gathering himself together and reinstating the cool with a nod of his head affirmed, "Absolutely Sam. Good idea. Maybe we can wrap this up quickly," he smiled, all the while hoping that maybe he might be able to spend a little more time in this ultimate habitation upgrade.

Unpacking his bag, Sam opened a drawer to find it was already occupied with what looked like tightie whities.

"Hey Man, what you doing?" asked a gruff voice from the door way.

Sam turned in the direction of the voice. Standing there was a half naked guy. Walking into the room while towel drying his hair, it looked as if he must have been swimming.

"Sorry, I, uh, I was looking for a place to put my clothes," Sam said.

"Oh," the blonde guy said looking uninterested and dropping himself onto what Sam assumed was his bed of choice. "I thought you were some pervy stage hand or something. Men find me attractive too, you know. But, me, I prefer the ladies." He said with a wink.

Sam laughed uncomfortably. Dean had come to stand at the end of Sam's bed to eye up the new guy. "Dean Campbell," Dean said with a sombre face and stretched out his hand; he was doing his best to play Serious Bachelor from Nebraska, mechanic extraordinaire.

"Bro, why'd you even bother to come on the show, you know I am going to win," said the blonde guy with an arrogant laugh, moving his gaze between Dean and Sam, blatantly ignoring Dean's proffered hand.

"Oh, so you're playing the role of Douche in this drama, hey?" asked Dean sarcastically.

The smile froze on his face, "My name is Ridge. And I don't appreciate sarcasm; it is the lowest form of humour you know. It really shows your lack of class." He stared at Dean and slowly smiled oozing arrogance.

Dean's blood was rushing through his ears. Sam, watching this exchange, knew he would need to step in at some point. He chose now. "I'm Sam Winchester. I'm from Sioux Falls. Where are you from Ridge?"

Dean glared at Sam, knowing what he was doing. Sam looked at Dean with a 'not now Dean' look.

"Seattle," he sniffed.

"Oh, great, that's a, a real nice city. I was there once with my Dad and ….," Sam trailed off realizing that no one was remotely interested in the one time he went to Seattle with his Father. Dean just stared at Sam in stunned silence with a 'what you doin', man?' look on his face.

The tension was broken by the entrance of five other guys. Briefly names were exchanged and greetings given; and with that John, Aaron, Peter, Andrew and Cyrus were initiated into the cast of the Bachelorette 2006.

More guys trickled in over the span of the afternoon. There was AJ from Iowa, now living in NYC. And Sasha, Stephen and Michael all with interesting stories no one was really listening too. Edward, Neil, Rich and Rudy joined the crew. Hans, Elijah, Eric, Maxim and Sean arrived about 3pm. Last to arrive were Matthew, Paul, Adam and Jose. Time was getting away from the Bachelors; they only had another hour to get situated and ready for the evening.

Dean sat on the patio with a beer, his second. Man, how am I going to fake this he wondered as he picked at the Label. I friggin' can't remember everyone's name. I friggin' hate this! He heard rustling and then someone sat down on the chaise lounge beside him. Crap, Dean thought, I can't even get time to myself.

"Hey Man, how you doing? I'm Elijah," said the friendly voice.

With head bowed forward over his knees, Dean turned his face toward the intruder. "I'm Dean," he said as politely as he could.

"Dude, you look totally bummed," Elijah said with concern.

Great, Dean thought, a knit-wit with limited vocabulary.

"Dude," Dean responded with slight mockery, "this sucks doesn't it? I mean, honestly, what is the point?" Dean screwed up his face.

Elijah smiled, "You can't give up already, you haven't even met the girl," he said.

"I don't mean that, I mean all these guys together, it's, uh, awkward, you know?" Dean was a little embarrassed; he wasn't one for talking about his feelings.

Elijah understanding this, said, "Look man, just be you, who cares about what anyone else thinks. I just got back from living 6 months on this Ashram outside of Mumbai and it was totally like this. It actually isn't so bad, but if you don't feel comfortable with people, just let 'em know and they will leave you alone, I'm sure of it."

Dean, not quite sure how to respond to this hippie, opened his mouth to say something profound when he was interrupted by Jason Hutchins, the assistant producer.

"Mr. Campbell, may I speak with you?" Jason asked.

Dean looking at him then back at Elijah, smiled wanly, "Sure, uh, what's your name again?" Dean asked looking back at Jason and trying to make the exchange look authentically original.

Jason smiled, "Jason, Jason Hutchins. I'm the assistant producer on the show. I just had a few question about your schedule for the one on one with the camera."

"Right, of course," Dean said with forced confidence. Standing up he nodded at Elijah and followed Jason.

Turning to Dean after he led him past the camera set up by the pool, Jason said, "I just spoke with Sam. He has had a quick chance to look over the house and hasn't found anything suspicious." Dean blushed he had forgotten he was supposed to help Sam with that, oops. Jason continued, "Now that all the Bachelors are here, I will get you all together to introduce you to the crew who will be working with you – taping your one on ones, setting up your lighting, doing your make-up etc, etc." Dean started to day dream, man this was one job he could do with out – Dudes with make up! Get real. Jason was still speaking and had paused looking at Dean expectantly.

"Sorry?," Dean asked confusedly.

"I asked if you and your brother had any idea about what it is that could have caused the _incidents _from last year," Jason repeated.

"Uh, no, no, uh, we haven't uh, really, um, uh…"

"Looked into yet?" Jason finished.

"Yah, that's right, we want to um, get a feel for what is going on here first, to see if there is likely to be a reoccurrence." Dean finished with confidence.

Jason looked at him suspiciously, "Yah, alright. I just want to make sure this show goes off without a hitch. The ratings soared last year, but as a result of everything that happened we had problems finding people to participate this year." Jason worried his lower lip, "It would be great if you could assure us that everything is fine. Rufus did say you and your brother are at the top of your game." Jason looked at Dean a little anxiously.

Dean, desiring to calm his anxiety said, "Jason, don't worry man, we will get this sorted." Jason breathed an obvious sigh of relief. "Thanks Dean, it really does mean a lot to me. My job is on the line." With that Jason excused himself to attend to a set situation.

The rest of the hour passed without incident. The Bachelors (or as Dean liked to call them the Loveless Dweebs) had all gathered together to mingle and were introduced to the crew. The head guy over-seeing the camera operation was Stanley Smits, he stuck out due to his odd appearance. He was missing his left ear. Dean had whispered a smart remark to Sammy during the introductions pondering why someone had gone all Van Gogh on Stanley's ass. Sammy noticing people staring at Dean turned to him and had told him to be quiet; sometimes Dean's timing was totally off.

After the introductions to the crew the 25 Bachelors had to get ready and head out to prepare to meet the Bachelorette. There was an air of excitement as the 25 men primped and preened themselves for the penultimate peacock show in a few hours. There was however, one guy sitting in the corner brooding. AJ asked Sam what he thought broody boy's problem was. And Sam had responded with a shrug of the shoulder and a muttered "don't know the guy, but he seems emotionally unstable, he'll be going home for sure!" At that both guys laughed and Dean glared at them from the corner.

This really does suck out loud, Dean thought. Sam and I have to pretend like we don't know each other because it's deep cover, I have to hang out with a bunch of douche bags and feign interest in a woman who will most likely be fugly or an absolute princess. I just want to hunt! Who really needs this crap!

The majority of guys had left for the limos down stairs and Dean stood up to follow. Sam pushed him back and hissed, "Dean, what is your problem man! You gotta smarten up! You can't be moody. Pretend like you are having a good time at least, enjoy the house, the pool, be _normal _with the other guys okay? The hunting will start soon, alright? But in the interim, you cannot get voted off. You need to be here! Get. With. The. Programme. Okay?

Dean looked sulkily at his brother, "Okay," he said and smiled slightly at his brother. Sam smiled in kind. Together the two walked downstairs to join the other Bachelors for the evening.

They left in 5 limos, groups of five in each. Dean was with Ridge (Ultimate Douche), Sasha (girly), Adam(cardboard), Neil (pretty sure Dude has a drooling problem)and Elijah (Hippy). Each limo waited in turn at the end of the driveway. Dean was in the fourth limo, he was pretty sure Sam was in the third.

"So, Dean," Elijah started, "why did you decide to come on the show?"

Dean raised an eyebrow and looked at Elijah, "Dude, you ask the weirdest questions?"

Elijah looked hurt. "Just trying to get to know you, that's all," he said, "You need to relax man; you know, you should check out meditation. It totally helped me," Elijah continued as if he and Dean had been friends since childhood. "My Mom got sick when I was 15 and died when I was 21 and my Dad had booked it long before then. I basically took care of my two younger brothers: Max and Tony since she was diagnosed. I was stressed out and tried meditation as a last resort. It was either that or smoke more weed than I could afford." He chuckled. "It gives me perspective." He was playing with his string bracelet.

Dean felt bad, "Sorry, Dude," Dean apologised, "I didn't mean to come off like an ass. He shrugged his shoulders. Pausing as if to make a decision, he said, "I basically raised my brother on my own too." He struggled with saying the words, clearing his throat, he continued. "My Dad was always gone on business, so I took care of my little brother. Someone had too." Dean leaning his elbows on his knees, hung his head. Taking a breath, he perked himself up pushing away the dark memories that started to rush his mind. He had to be on, he had to be ready; he had to, for Sam.

Their limo started to move. As it pulled up to the front door, Ridge opened the door, he was the first to get out. Figures, Dean thought. He couldn't really see out the windows to the woman that waited for them. Each guy took his turn at exiting the limo. Dean was the last to get out. He stood outside the limo and brushed off his suit. Raising his head he physically reacted to the woman waiting to be greeted by him. He didn't move, he couldn't move. He was glued to the spot and he just stared at her.

She was getting a little antsy. She laughed nervously. "You okay?" she asked with a tinge of a North western accent.

Dean cleared his throat and smiled patting his stomach, he willed his feet to move. "Yes, yes, I'm fine," he said nervously, "I just wasn't expecting _you_."

"Me?," she laughed, "have we met before?"

"No, I would have remembered," he laughed. "You're absolutely stunning," he said, blushing a little, "I wasn't expecting that."

She blushed in return, "Paige," she said sticking out her hand, "it's a pleasure to meet you," she said happily.

Dean took her hand and held it placing his other hand over it. Tracing up her arms with his eyes stopping on her chest and eventually stopping on her face, he smiled. The way her white dress hugged her hips caused a stirring in Dean. Her cleavage was to die for and her face was soft and beautiful. Her curly hair fell about her shoulders in a way that made Dean want to reach out and touch it right then and there. But it was her eyes that riveted Dean to the spot. He couldn't take his away. The icy blue colour of them seemed to pierce right through him, it was un-nerving. She coloured again in reaction to his stare. He finally offered Paige his name, "I'm Dean and I'm very happy to meet you Paige."

She smiled shyly. He could tell she liked him. He smiled back. Now this is Awesome he thought!


	3. Chapter: And Then There Were 15

**A/N**: So, here we have the story progressing. It is the first night were the Bachelors are to meet Paige 'officially'. Will anything go wrong? Have a read and find out. I hope to post chapters weekly. Do let me know what you think of the story. Any feedback is helpful! Enjoy!

**Disclaimer**: I hold no rights on Supernatural or The Bachelorette. The story that follows is purely for fun.

**And then there were 15**

Sam stood by the fireplace, beer in one hand and the other buried deep into his dress pants pocket. His brow was furrowed as he stared absently into the fire. AJ approached tentatively, "Hey Man, you okay?" he asked.

Sam drawn out of his dream state, smiled at his new friend, "Yah Man, totally good," he nodded his head vigorously. Earlier Sam and AJ had hit it off in their mutual mocking of Dean _Campbell_. Of course, AJ had no idea that Sam and Dean were brothers, or that as brothers they were here to track a potential _supernatural_ threat on the set of the show. But, Sam figured his camaraderie with AJ would serve as a good part of his cover on the show. And it wasn't all bad as AJ was a pretty decent guy.

Taking a swig of beer Sam asked, "So, what are your thoughts on Paige?" stepping into his role as bachelor.

"Bro, she is a beautiful! Those eyes, that hair and her body, she is sexy; what a woman should look like, I think anyway. I know some guys like skin on bones, but I like me some meat." AJ stated passionately and then flinched. Looking embarrassed, he looked to Sam, "Sorry," he smiled awkwardly, "I, uh, got a little carried away there." He rolled his shoulders and cleared his throat. "She seems really sweet too. We'll see how this pans out, yeah? I mean you and I could be the last men standing to fight for her affections." AJ said with a laugh. Sam looked at him with a false grin, he knew that wouldn't happen. Sam had no plans on falling for said Bachelorette. His heart was still attached, less so now, but he still occasionally dreamed of Jessica, her hair, her mouth, her scent. Paige was beautiful, but, he couldn't see anything happening. And besides he was here to work!

At that point, five more bachelors entered the room and Dean was among them. Sam noted the giddy look on his brother's face. Oh no, he thought and walking over to Dean put out his hand to shake Dean's. Dean looked at him like he had three heads. Sam pointedly stared at Dean, "Dude," he hissed, "we don't know each other. ACT LIKE IT!" Dean complied and shook Sam's hand looking left and right with an awkward smile on his chiselled features. Sam with a smile on his face, not looking at Dean but nodding hello to the guy he thought was Eric, said through unmoving lips, "Dean remember, you are not here to get lucky with the Bachelorette. You are here on a job and we can't afford to blow our covers." Sam switched the direction he was looking in and turned to walk away from Dean.

That was unnecessary thought Dean grouchily. Sam is such an emotional mugger! He's just jealous because he knows Paige the Babe would prefer Dean over him any day. Dean smirked in reaction to his thoughts. Sam wanted him to act like he belonged here; then he was going to do just that, especially when it came to Paige.

Chris Harrison stepped into the room on the tail of the last five guys to enter the room. "Gentlemen, may I have your attention?" he announced. All 25 pairs of eyes looked to the host waiting in anticipation of his next words.

"Gentlemen, you have all now officially met this year's Bachelorette, Paige Gordon. As you will know tonight is a cocktail party, where each of you are encouraged to get to know the Bachelorette better and convince her why it is that you need to stay on this show," he smiled. "Unfortunately, ten of you will be going home tonight. Gentlemen, here she is, this year's Bachelorette, Paige Gordon." He waved his left in a swopping motion ushering Paige into the room.

The Bachelors all clapped and a few shouted welcomes. Paige smiled shyly, she wasn't used to this much attention. Man, Cate and Anna would be having a hay day with this she thought.

As Sam looked around the room he saw most of the bachelors checking out Paige. Several pairs of eyes traced over her figure. A few lingered on her chest. Some looked to her face and one looked passed her to the doorway behind her in a motion that made one think there was someone else waiting to enter the room. Sam gazed around at the group of guys wondering what these next weeks were to hold. He had had a chance to look over the house and found nothing. He had spoken with Stanley Smits about the _accidents_ last year. Sam had succeeded in not arousing any suspicions with his questioning and Stanley seemed almost excited to talk about them. Sam noted this for later.

"Well, Guys, let's go crack open some wine!" Paige said happily ushering with her arms for them to head out to the patio.

All 25 men playfully pushed each other and horsed around on their way out to the patio. Sam ended up walking alongside of Paige and gestured her ahead of him out of the door. She smiled up at him, "So, Sam," she said, "you're a bartender, is that right?" Sam surprised that she had remembered his name and let alone knew that he was a bartender, started, "Uh, wow, Paige, you remembered my name?" he smiled, "yah, I tend bar at a bar outside of Sioux Falls. I grew up there and love the stories I hear from the multitudinous folks who pass through.

She looked at him funnily and laughed "Multitudinous? I haven't heard that one in a while, or ever heard it used in conjunction with 'folks'. You're a conundrum Sam, big words mixed with folksy talk; handsome dark looks belying the mind that hides behind them." She smiled softly and looked up at him with her big blue eyes. His heart was in his throat. Her words hit him in the gut. Her gentle playfulness matched with her soft look at him catapulted the spread of a warm feeling throughout his chest. He desired to reach out and put his arm around her shoulders and draw her close to him. This confused him. He smiled awkwardly at her and she seeing this looked back confusedly at him.

At that very moment, Adam master of suave, sauntered up to Sam and Paige and velvetly asked if he could have a few moments with Paige. She smiled politely and nodded. Looking at Sam she said good-bye with her eyes.

Staring after her, Sam could have kicked himself. What is wrong with you man! He berated himself. You need to stay on the show; and you need to act like you are interested to stay on the show. Good job moron! At that moment Eric stood beside Sam. "Looks like you two were hitting it off, eh?" Sam smiled tightly back at Eric, "Yah, well, it was a short exchange." He shrugged, " you want a beer Eric?" Sam asked. "Sounds great!" Eric responded. And with that they headed over to the bar where the majority of the Bachelors were hanging out. It was only Neil, the one with the drooling problem and inability to look at Paige directly, who sat by the pool alone. Honestly, the guys wondered amongst themselves how he had made it through the vetting process?

After about 20 minutes of shooting the shit, Dean came up to the group sniggering. "You'll never guess what? He full out laughed. All of the other Bachelors started to laugh before even hearing what Dean had to say.

"I just heard Adam tell Paige he was _Chewish_! Jewish and Christian. Dude's got a nickname – Chewy! Who's with me?" Dean asked, "huh, huh? Raising a palm to be high fived by anyone willing to participate. The guys looked awkwardly at each other. "Man, you can't make fun of someone's religion!" Sasha said with conviction.

"Oh come on," Dean said, "it's funny! I'm _funny_!" Dean said pointing both of his index fingers at himself. Sam rolled his eyes and the other Bachelors started to laugh at Dean. Dean scowled. At that moment Paige approached the group with Peter and putting her hand on Dean's forearm she asked if she could chat with him. Dean turning to the guys raised his eyebrows in a "Dude, she wants me" look. That got to some of the Bachelors who glared after them.

Sitting on the loveseat with Paige next to the pool was quite the setting for Dean. He had had a couple of beers so was feeling pretty good and sitting there with a beautiful woman made him warm all over. She smiled shyly up through long eyelashes. Dean had a lump in his throat. God she was beautiful and without thinking he reached out to touch her hair and gently took a ringlet in his fingers and rolled it back and forth between thumb and index finger starting at it the whole time, somehow mesmerized. She laughed gently. "Dean," she whispered, "I couldn't wait to talk to you. Why didn't you approach me sooner? You made me come to you." She said a little reproachfully. Dean swallowed, realising he had a part to play here. "Paige, honestly," he paused searching for believable words because the truth was he had been caught up talking shit with the boys. "I was trying to get the nerve to talk to you again. He lied. She laughed, "You're so full of crap, Dean!" He was shocked. "I know you were busy hanging with the boys." She smiled, "and that is totally okay. I just want you to know that I would very much like some of your attention too." She put her hand on his knee. "I feel like we have a connection." She bit her lower lip. He had to suppress a laugh, she was adorable. "You're not kidding there. Honestly, you are the most beautiful woman I've seen in a long, long time. And I would very much like to spend some time with you too." He leaned in closer searching her face with his green eyes. She had a whisper of a smile on her lips and leaned into him, their noses touching and their breath mingling. The tension could be cut with a knife. Dean broke it and shifting his chin towards her he lightly touched her lips with his. They were soft. He pulled away and she looked at him through lowered lids, "Again," she whispered. He needed no convincing, with her consent Dean slid his hand around her waist and drew her to him. He could tell she was a little nervous, maybe inexperienced. He kissed a smile to her lips. She smiled back and gently kissed him raising her hand to his face. He wasn't that into inexperienced women, but he liked Paige. He would let her let him know when she was ready for more. His soft kisses drew an audible sound from her. Her thumb was gently caressing his face as she placed light kisses to his lips. And it was there, by the pool, on the first night that they spent a few short moments exchanging caresses and gentle kisses. They brought their embrace to a mutual conclusion and she, eyes closed, shyly licked her lips. He smiled and traced the lines of her face with his eyes. This could be dangerous he thought. She opened her eyes, "Thank you for your time Dean," she said coyly. He laughed a short laugh and put his hand on her knee, squeezing slightly. "I look forward to many more times like this." Together they got up to join the rest of the group. It was time for the first rose ceremony.

The agony of the name calling had started and finished. Dean and Sam had made it through the first round, though Sam wondered how he did with his earlier mess up, but he did and he was thankful.

It was Matthew, Maxim, Sean, Hans, Jason, Adam(Chewy), Neil(Long live the Drool), Edward, Rick and Rudy who headed home. Sam could see how they didn't make the cut. He was happy about the reduction in numbers as it lowered possible suspects for anything _supernatural_ that were to happen.

After a final drink with Paige and a hug goodnight all around from the Bachelorette, the remaining bachelors headed to bed. Sam lay awake to the sounds of heavy breathing resulting in snoring and mass productions of gas. Guys were gross and this proved it. Yet none of this cacophony of sound blocked the awareness of the anxiety that was coiled in Sam's stomach. Even though he hadn't found anything yet, he was afraid of what he and Dean were about to find here on the show that brings love, and apparently disease and death, to the nation.

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

Dear Diary –

Well, I have made it through Day One without incident. There are some really nice guys here. I sent ten home tonight and I feel good about my choices. I have to mention though that there are a few guys in particular who have peaked my interest. One, mainly for ascetic reasons, but Dean grabbed me from first sight. He is gorgeous. I have never seen a man as beautiful as him in my life, EVER! It was like staring into the sun. We kissed tonight and wow, I mean wow. He lit me on fire. I wish Anna and Cate were here so I could talk about it with them. Another is Sam. He is gorgeous too, but differently. I mean he is physically hot, but it's his mind and the way he presents himself that has arrested me. I can tell he is kind and gentle. Though maybe a little awkward with girls. I am definitely going to give him a chance. Then AJ seems a real sweetie, I can't wait to get to know him. Elijah is like a cool surfer Dude, but really connected to life. We had a great conversation tonight about life and what it all means. And then there is Cyrus. He's different, he is rather leonine looking with his curly blond hair, but has a kind face. He is Greek and cooks Greek food, one of my favourites! Honestly, I am feeling pretty good about this selection of guys.

Anyway, Diary, I need to head to bed. It's a big day tomorrow. I have my first one on one date. And I know who I am going to choose!

Here's to LOVE!

Goodnight xx


	4. Chapter: And so it Begins

**A/N:** The drama continues with this instalment, _And so it Begins…_. Following the first one on one date something weird transpires at the Mansion. The Boys continue their research, are they making headway? Will someone go home and discover a little more about the Supernatural fugly. Please do review and give me your feedback. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own _Supernatural_ or _The Bachelorette._ This story is written purely for fun.

**And so it Begins….**

Relief came to Dean when the lights were turned out. Blocking out the cacophony of noise that came from his roommates brought some respite to Dean as now he could be alone in his head. He had prevaricated about his feelings earlier when Sam had asked concernedly, "how you feeling about Paige, Dean?"He had answered, "Fine Sammy, no worries, all in a day's work." But the truth was he wasn't so sure. The seemingly innocuous and innocent moments he has spent with Paige kept playing like a movie in his mind. The hungering kisses she had given him, the moan she made when he kissed her back, her ample breast pressed against him. As each scene played out in his mind he could feel his body reacting, he was a guy for crying out loud. The fingers on his right hand tingled with a desire to touch himself. But, for shit's sake he couldn't do that in a room full of other dudes. He turned his head towards the door way, he could see the night light glowing in the hallway. All he would need to do is tip-toe past the sleeping noise makers to the hallway and then take a left to the bathroom, where, in blissful privacy, he could administer relief to himself while fantasizing about her. God, she was sexy. There really was something about this girl that had captured him. Her seeming innocence; her naivety; her all out trust of him. He wasn't sure; he furrowed his brow in reaction to this thought. It has been a while since he had been so captivated; it was disconcerting. Gathering strength to move quietly he shifted up onto his elbows, he could feel the weight of the blankets against his half hard groin. Pulling the blankets back with his left hand, he swung his feet out of bed and onto the floor. Tentatively, he stood up, again aware of the tightening of his pj bottoms. No worries Skippy, relief is on the way, he thought smirking. After about three tippy-toed steps, face contorted and shoulders hunched in an attempt to keep himself invisible, he heard the hissing of his name, "Dean." Pause. "Dean!" God, he thought, Sammy, can't you leave me in peace?

"Yah?" he hissed back.

"Where you going?" Sam asked innocently.

"To the bathroom, you mind?" Dean responded annoyed.

"Okay. Well, we need to talk. I will wait outside the door, in the hallway, for you." Sam swung his long legs out from under the covers.

Great thought Dean, there was to be no relief now. There was no way he could achieve satisfaction with his brother outside the bathroom door. That would just be weird.

"Okay, just give me a few…," Dean trailed off, "uh, tonight's dinner isn't, uh, sitting well with me."

Sammy paused, "Uh, okay. Meet me in the dining room, okay? Um, when you're done." He cleared his throat, a little embarrassed that they were having this conversation.

"Fine," Dean said with finality and continued to tip toe out of the bedroom.

In the Bathroom, after hearing Sam's tentative steps down the hallway towards the staircase, Dean leaned himself against the vanity, his back to the mirror. He thought about Paige in her white hip hugging dress, the first night he met her. He thought about the few short minutes he has spent with her that evening, her taste, her scent, her shy laugh. He thought about her blue eyes and her long lashes. After a few minutes of concentration sweet relief came to Dean Winchester. He stood there, slightly weak, leaning against the vanity. He was aware of the goofy grin he had on his face. That was awesome, he thought. After resting there for a moment, he turned around to the sink and washed his hands smiling at himself in the mirror.

Having cleared his head, he turned to the matter of Sammy and his need for a midnight rendezvous. Turning the bathroom light off and opening the door, Dean headed down the hallway towards the stairs.

Following the soft glow of lights to the dining room, Dean walked in and closed the French door.

"Hey, hey, Sammy, what's up?" he said in a perky voice.

"Wow, Dean, you must have had success in the bathroom. You feeling better?" Sam asked half smiling.

Dean flinched in slight embarrassment, "Yah, I feel a lot better, Sammy, thanks for asking. Remind me to stay away from the Chilli." Dean said trying to come across seriously.

"Dean, we had Salmon for dinner," Sam stated with unbelief.

"Salmon, chilli, whatever, Sammy. Just remind me to stay away from food." Dean said slightly frustrated. Why did his brother have to be so exact about _everything_!

"Okay, Dean, whatever. I don't think that is possible, but, whatever!" Sam said annoyed, "Let's get down to business," Sam stated. "I wanted to show what research I've done today on gout, scabs and over-eating. I've been looking to see if there is anything that links these three things together. So far I haven't had any luck in discovering a connection. I spoke again with Stanley Smits, he's the head camera guy…."

Dean nodded he knew who Sam was talking about and stroked his chin.

"He was very excited to tell me about what had transpired last season. It was kinda weird; his excitement, I mean. I think we should keep Stan on the back burner for future reference." Sam said.

"Okay," Dean responded, "So, no links yet, but we have to keep looking. Did Stanley notice any funny behaviour on the set last year?" Dean asked.

"Well, he said two of his guys, Michael Moore and Buck Rogers, went off sick. Moore stayed away, but Rogers returned after a week."

"Buck Rogers! BUCK ROGERS! Dude I LOVE that comic strip! Do you remember our Christmas in Ashby, Minnesota? I must have been about 10, you were 6 and got that plastic robot, remember? Dad got me a copy of a Buck Rogers comic for Christmas. It was second hand and torn on pages 5, 9 and 13. But Dude! I LOVED that gift!

"You remember the pages that were torn?" Sam asked incredulously.

"Dude, I read that thing like 1,000 times. I memorized it word for word."

Sam couldn't believe it! One, his brother read and two, Dean was recounting a happy memory about Dad. It had been hard these last few months after Dad's death. Dean had refused to talk about how he felt. Sam had tried to share how he was feeling, God knows. But, Dean was having none of it. To hear his brother wax excitedly about this memory made Sam smile. Maybe, just maybe things would be okay?

Sam laughed, "Well, maybe Buck's dad was a fan too!"

"I gotta meet this guy!" Dean smiled.

Sam looking back at his computer screen, furrowed his brow. "Okay, Dean, so, we don't have a connection yet. But, let's wait this out. I could try and speak to Buck tomorrow and Michael if he is still around." Sam said staring behind Dean to the door.

"No, let me talk to Buck…."Dean trailed off as they both turned towards the door behind them as it opened.

"Gentlemen," Ridge said with such distain Sam reacted physically to it. "Are you two having a private ménage?" He smirked. "I would have taken you for a poofter," he said nodding to Dean, "But you?" looking at Sam with raised eyebrows, "you, I took for a Ladies man!"

Dean saw red, lunging forward, Dean yelled, "You bas...," but he was held back by Sam who had grabbed his arm. "Dean. Don't" Sam warned.

Ridge smiled, "You two seem to know each other quite well." Furrowing his brow, Ridge seemed a little confused by this realisation.

"We, um, discovered today that we both liked reading, um, medical text books." Sam fumbled, looking at Dean with raised eyebrows and a 'I couldn't think of anything better look' on his face.

Dean's hand covered his face in apparent embarrassment. Ridge laughed, "You what?" he spat. "C'mon, that is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard." He laughed.

"Yah, well, it's true!" Sam said a little petulantly. He was trying hard to be convincing. "I was just showing Dean here some of my favourite websites that I use for medical research." Sam said raising his hand to run it through his hair, a clear tell that he was lying. With the other hand he pointed toward his computer and the webpage he and Dean had been looking at for information on gout.

Ridge peered over the top of the lap top to glance at the screen; sure enough it was Wikipedia's page on gout.

"Wikipedia? C'mon everyone knows you can't trust it as a source of information, any moron can add their two cents worth." Ridge scoffed.

"Well, I find it useful." Sam said with firmness. His youthful face betraying his attempt at assertiveness.

Ridge smirked and looked between the two brothers. Narrowing his eyes when they lingered on Dean, he said quietly, "I'm keeping my eye on you two, but especially you." His eyes never left Dean's face leaving no room for misunderstanding. Dean gave a half smile smirk, "Gee that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside." Feigning shyness and an aw-schucks attitude; switching gears he growled, "But, Dude, I don't swing that way." His eyes cold and teeth gritted.

Ridge smirked again, "Good night boys," he said in high falsetto. Dean rolled his eyes and growled his disdain as Ridge left them alone in the Dining room.

"That Ass needs a good whooping!" Dean exhaled.

"Dean, I know he rubs you the wrong way..."

"Bad choice of words Sammy, given the innuendo," Dean glared at his brother.

"Fine, Dean, whatever. But, you have to focus on the task at hand here. Who cares about a pompous jerk like that; we need to keep our ears to the ground for anything out of the ordinary."

"Okay, fine," Dean muttered. "But, I want to talk to Buck tomorrow," he grinned, "Please?" his sad puppy eyes made Sam laugh. "Fine, Dean, go for it. Do it tomorrow morning. Let's rendezvous after lunch."

"Dude, that just sounds wrong! Don't ever use that word with me again, okay?" The distaste on Dean's face was striking.

"Right, okay," Sam laughed, "but you really need to deal with your evident homophobia!" Sam stated as he packed up his computer.

"Dude, I'm not homophobic. It's cool for some people. Just not for me, that's all." Dean said awkwardly. "I like pu…," Sam interrupted him, "Dean, I know," raising a hand to stop his brother continuing, "It's fine. Now let's head upstairs. We have a big day tomorrow."

Dean grimaced at Sam's statement. Again, heading upstairs together, it's just awkward, he thought.

The morning had started out with the remaining Bachelors eating breakfast. All had gathered in the kitchen and were talking crap as Dean, the last to get up, stumbled in.

"Dude," Elijah said, "you look wasted!"

Dean half smirked, "Yah, I am in definite need of coffee."

Pouring himself a mug from the coffee machine he turned to join the guys in conversation at the sink. Michael was relaying a story about an incident he had had on the baseball field, where he had run head first into the second baseman sending them both to the hospital. Dean laughed along with the others. Scanning the group of guys he saw Sam at the kitchen sink in conversation with AJ and Cyrus. He knew he needed to get onto tracking down Buck. He was excited that maybe there was something up his alley in this whole awkward guy on guy situation. He noted the cameras were running, but no one in particular was manning them. This must be just for the outtakes, he thought. Leaving the kitchen, coffee in hand, he went searching for a member of the crew.

Upstairs he found two crew members, Miranda and John. Dean didn't waste this opportunity to flirt and winked at Miranda, giving her his best blue steel as he introduced himself. She balked at him, "Excuse me, but aren't you here for the Bachelorette, Paige?" she questioned. Forgetting his place, he backed down. Apparently, flirting with other women is out of bounds on this show.

Turning to John, Dean asked, feigning innocence, "Hey, could you tell me, does Buck Rogers still work on this set?"

John scrunched up his face, "Uh, why you asking after Buck?"

"Uh, well, he is actually, uh, my distant cousin," Dean lied, hopefully convincingly.

"Oh really," John responded with surprise, "that's great; it will probably be great for him to see a familiar face. He's been a little down lately since his wife left him four months ago."

"Oh, yah, what was her name, Sarah?…" Dean said in hopes John would jump in.

"Aino," John said with a questioning look on his face.

"Oh right, Aino!" Dean said with an embarrassed laugh, "Her name was always difficult for me to remember."

"Anyway, "John went on to explain, "she left Buck to return to Finland. She had reconnected with a teenage love and left Buck to pursue her 'true love', she had called him. But, why am I telling you this, you're family, you would know this already!" John laughed at his garrulousness.

With a 'don't worry about it, man' wave of his hand and a half smile on his face, Dean said, "Dude, totally okay. It's good to know Buck had someone to talk about this. It has been difficult for him. Is he still around on the set?" Dean asked hoping to get a little more information on Buck's whereabouts.

"Oh, yah, sorry man," John said with chagrin, "his shift starts at 2pm today. He will be manning Camera two."

"That's great," Dean said, "thanks so much. I'm looking forward to seeing him again. It's been awhile." And with a smile and a handshake Dean headed back down stairs to grab some breakfast. At that point the door bell rang. Dean being just at the front door opened it to find a small envelope lying on the welcome mat. He picked it up and opened it. In fancy script it read:

Dean ~

Sail away with me to unchartered waters.

Love, Paige

Dean almost dropped his coffee. What was this he thought? Taking the envelope into the kitchen, he asked with innocence, "Hey Guys, this was at the door. I'm not quite sure what it means?" Ridge grabbed it from him and read the card. "You're an arse, you know that?" Ridge growled. Dean a little hurt by this vituperation, took a step back. "What?" Dean asked defensively.

"It's a date card," Elijah laughed and simplified it for his lost-looking friend, "we are here on a show to find love, Dean. Normal people do that by going on dates, Dean. Paige has invited you on the first one on one date, Einstein." Elijah chuckled. All the other guys joined in.

"Dude," AJ said with excitement, "you're her first one on one date. That be some good news!" He high fived Dean who was a little overwhelmed by all the excitement in the room. But the realisation dawned on him, he would get to spend some one on one time with the Paige the Babe and a wide goofy grin spread across his face. Awesome, he thought. He then accepted the pats on the back and the high fives being dealt out all around. Ridge kept his distance, glowering in the corner and Sammy looked on with some anxiety.

This was mixed news for Sam. It was good that Paige seemingly liked Dean; it meant he could stay on the show to solve any supernatural issues that may arise, but if his brother didn't keep it together, he just may lose focus on his real reason for being here. Sam would bring this up at their rendezvous, oh sorry, meeting after lunch.

After eating lunch, it was too late to call it breakfast once all the excitement had petered out, Dean took a shower, knowing that 3pm was the time Sam and he had set to connect and share any new information they had gathered. Though he felt he would have a hard time concentrating on his meeting with Sam knowing that in a few hours he would be off with beautiful Paige. Time alone with a gorgeous girl what could be better? Well, maybe a bacon cheese burger and a cold beer but, hey, Dean wasn't going to kick a gift horse in the mouth. He would definitely take what he could get.

Having thrown on his blue jeans and a black t-shirt Dean took one last look in the mirror and gave himself the double guns, "Lookin' good, Cowboy," he said winking at himself. AJ and Elijah laughed at Dean's antics. "Dude, I thought I was bad, but you're a quintessential dork!" AJ said with laughter. Dean responded with a wide grin and a wave. With that he left for the back garden, life was good, he thought.

Sam was sitting on the other side of the pool. They had agreed to keep their meeting cool, make it look like they were just shooting the breeze. Dean plunked himself onto the chair across the table from Sam. "So, bro, what have you got?" He asked with a smile.

"Dean, no _bro_ here, remember?" Sam said seriously leaning forward in his chair.

"Dude, whatever," Dean dismissed the comment, always the emotional mugger. There was no way his baby bro was going to ruin his mood today, NO WAY!

"So, did you find Buck?" Sam asked expectantly.

"No, he didn't start his shift until 2pm today and he will be on camera two. Did you think you could try and have a chat with him, Sammy? I need to get ready for my hot date tonight." Dean grinned.

Sam rolled his eyes, "about that Dean, just remember why you are here? It's not for the girl, we are here to see if anything paranormal is going on here, okay?" Again, Dean thought, emotionally mugging, "Sammy, couldn't you for once be happy for me? I'm heading out a date with a beautiful girl tonight. I do have more information on our friend Buck, if you would let me get a word in edge-wise. We are on top of this; I am on top of this. Let me have my fun too, okay?" Dean said with some seriousness.

Sam looked at his brother with some understanding. "I am happy for you Dean, honestly I am. I guess I just have to learn to trust that you are going to come through on this. I know how you get with women."

"You trust me, Sammy? Really? You have issues trusting me," Dean stopped himself; he couldn't tell Sammy what Dad had said before he died, Dean hesitated, looking at his brother looking back at him. Dean had no idea what the future held, but he did know he needed his brother. He pushed any thoughts of doubt out of his mind and said, "Sam, I am in this; I _will_ do my part. This is what I am born to do. You can trust that."

Sam gave a curt nod, "Okay, now what is this other information you have on Buck?"

Feeling his brother had accepted what he said, Dean pontificated on the information he had acquired from John on Buck Rogers. Everything from his Finnish wife Aino, to the teen romance to the leaving four months ago, to the extreme sadness their _distant_ relative Buck was suffering. At this last bit of information Sam rolled his eyes. "Dean, you can't just go making these things up, we could be found out!" He said with slight annoyance in his voice. "Sammy, don't worry, nobody gives two craps about these things. It'll be fine." Dean hoped.

"Anyway, Dude, you think you could talk to Bucky boy today?" Dean asked.

"Sure, will do," Sam responded absently, then remembering "Oh, yah, Dean, there is nothing on Michael Moore. He actually never returned to work; which puts him out of the picture because we know that the _funny_ stuff was happening after he left. So, it couldn't be him anyway."

"Well, that narrows down some suspects. Good work Sam. Let's just wait and see what Rogers tells us then, shall we?" Dean pushed back his chair to get up from the table.

"Dean," Sam said tentatively, "have a good time tonight." He smiled up at his brother.

Dean smiled back, some tension leaving his shoulders, "Thanks Sammy, I will!" With that he left the poolside and his brother, heading up to the room to get ready for his 4pm pick up. He smirked all the way upstairs.

Fourteen guys had gathered in the living room to see Dean and Paige off. Ridge was noticeably missing. Paige had appeared in a soft pink t-shirt that clung to her ample chest and didn't quite reach the top of her blue jean skirt. She was tanned and glowing and looking every bit the supermodel she could be if she were 2 inches taller and not quite so voluptuous. These facts didn't seem to matter to the guys as none of them could take their eyes off her. She smiled shyly in reaction to all the attention, which Dean noted and it warmed him.

"Hello, Gentlemen," Paige gave a small wave, "How are you doing this evening?" she asked a little shyly. Echoes of 'good' and 'fine' were heard in response to her question. "Well," looking at Dean she said, "shall we go?" He smiled back at her, "We shall!" They left to a chorus of 'have a good time' and 'have fun'; and one dufus even said 'don't do anything I wouldn't do!' Moron, thought Dean.

He opened the limo door for her to climb in and he followed her into the limo noting how her skirt hugged her curves. Must remain cool, he thought; but knew his attraction to her was strong. He wasn't sure he could keep his hands off. Dean sat himself down beside her and rested his hands on his thighs, tingling in reaction to her nearness. It was a bit awkward as he hadn't really been on a date, ever. He had hooked up with chicks, but not dated them really. Well, maybe Cassie, but that was a while ago. This was a new experience for sure and the camera man in the back of the limo with them made things even more awkward.

"So, Dean, how has your day been?" she asked smiling.

He responded with a smile answering, "pretty non-eventful." He wasn't to share with her why he was really here, so talking about his covert ops earlier in the day was out of the question. "I was just hanging out with the guys, getting to know them a bit. They're a good group, well, almost all of them." He said, regretting it the moment it came out of his mouth.

"Really? Are there tensions already?" she asked intrigued.

"Oh, well, some of the guys I don't really get along with, that's all." He said trying to remain vague and wishing she wouldn't pursue this line of questioning.

"Who?" she asked.

"Um, you know, it's probably best I don't say anything at this point; I wouldn't want to colour your opinion of anyone." Wow, he thought, where did that come from?

"Wow," she said, "that's very mature of you."

I know, thought Dean, very uncharacteristic of me. He smiled in response to her rejoinder and stared her in the eyes.

She blushed.

"I was really happy when I read that I would be with you tonight." There was no way he would explain his earlier confusion about his date with her and the ensuing laughter that had followed it. She needed to know he was cool.

She shyly smiled, "Honestly, Dean, I couldn't wait for tonight." She bit her lip, embarrassed, "I always feel like I give myself away when I am with you." She turned her head from him, hiding her embarrassment, "I wish I could just be cool and aloof. But there is something about you that I just want to tell you everything. Even last night, there was no hiding what I was feeling when we were together." She blushed again.

Dean blushed too, and looking down at his hands he said, "Well, I hope it was clear what I was feeling." He went a shade redder. He had never been this honest with a girl.

She put her hand on his forearm; he looked at her sideways and smiled. She smiled back and kissed him on his cheek.

Oh God, he thought, what the heck have I got myself into?

The limo pulled up to the pier where they were to board a small yacht to sail to the Catalina Islands. Dean was overwhelmed by this as he had never in his life experienced such luxury. Upon arriving on the Island, they promptly changed into bathing suits and went swimming, splashing about which resulted in Dean chasing Paige down the beach and finally catching her they fell to the beach laughing their heads off.

Looking at her lying there, smiling up at the sky, his heart grew in his chest. It was the first time in his life that Dean felt free. Free from his past, free from all that bound him to the life he had been born into. He embraced this moment and sat up, he offered her his hand. She took it smiling. They stood up and Dean lead her deeper into the water. They reached the level where Dean's feet just barely touched the sand, he drew her to him and there they floated together. She spoke of her family. Of her sister who had died when she was young. Dean listened as Paige spoke about how she nursed her sister until she died. He teared up a little when she spoke of the sense of lost she felt at her sister's passing. Seeing this, she decidedly changed the subject, telling Dean, this was a happy day and that they should carry on in the spirit of happiness. Though, she remarked his sensitivity.

As the sun set they got changed again and hand in hand headed towards a table spread out on the beach for them to partake of their dinner. Tiki torches outlined the scene and a nice bottle of chilled German Riesling waited for them to uncork.

Pouring her a glass of wine, Dean said, "Paige, honestly, I have had such an amazing day." He looked at her in the glowing torch light and smiled. He caught his breath as she looked stunning in her blue strapless dress, it brought out the colour of her eyes.

Shyly she smiled, "Dean, it was wonderful with you today. How you listened to me," she blushed and turned her head, "talk about my sister. And my life…." She looked back at him, "how you just threw yourself into this date. You were amazing today."

"Well, being with you helped," he blushed. What was he saying? "I really like you," he said honestly.

"And I like you," she said. With that she reached for the rose sitting on the table. Picking it up she asked, "Dean Campbell, will you accept this rose?"

He smiled goofily. "Of course," he said swallowing his last bit of Risotto. Licking his lips he leaned forward to let her pin it on him. Their faces were close and he shifted his head slightly down to look at her cheek as she finished pinning the rose on him. At that moment she looked up.

God, he thought. And with that he wrapped his left arm around her and pulled her to him. He kissed her passionately using his tongue to explore her mouth. She tasted sweet, like the wine. Her hands went to his hair where she hungrily grabbed it and pushed his mouth harder onto hers. Her tongue responded to his and searched his mouth passionately. He broke the kiss and taking her head in his hands he stared at her. "You are so beautiful," he whispered. "I haven't been this attracted to someone in a very long time." She leaned in and kissed him opened mouth sucking at his top lip. "I love your mouth," she said, "It's so kissable." He smiled and responded to her kissing by grabbing her hair and kissing her hard. She moaned again. Oh, shit he thought as he felt his pants get a little tighter. He would have to back off. But it was her who pulled away first. "I need to stop, Dean," and she shifted away from him. His heart reacted in pain to her movement. "Oh?" he said confusedly. "It's not you Dean, well, it is you Dean," she laughed. He was confusedly hurt. "Did I do something wrong?" he asked honestly. "No, no, you do everything right, that is why I need to move away." She was embarrassed.

"Oh," he was still confused.

"Um, well, I don't know if you would have picked up on it or not? But I assume that you have, given your experience with women," she was rambling at this point and Dean was trying very hard to follow her verbal trail, "but, I haven't had a lot of, shall I say, dating experience." She looked at him red faced.

"Yah, I thought as much, no biggie," he said still confused as to what was going on here.

"Well, did you watch _The Bachelor_ last season?"

Dean laughed loudly in response to this question. It was Paige's turn to be confused.

Realising this, Dean, calming his laughter, said, "No, I am on the road a lot of the time and don't watch a lot of television."

She exhaled deeply in response to this and continued, "Well, I, um, uh, left the show last season because there comes a point in the show where you can _spend_ _a night_ with the Bachelor and I couldn't reconcile doing that if three other women would be given the same opportunity." She said breathily.

Dean thought about this, spending a night with four women, Awesome! Instead he asked her, "At the same time?"

"No, of course not!" she said with shock.

"Oh, okay." Dean was still confused.

"I guess what I am trying to say, Dean, is that I am very attracted to you. But, I have _never _in my life allowed my attraction to a man go too far." She bit her lip in anticipation that he got her meaning.

He looked up to the sky, thinking about what she had just said. Realisation dawned on him.

"You're a virgin!" He said with disbelief looking at her.

She exhaled again, visibly relieved, "yah, that's right." She looked at him and he looked back at her astonishment still written on his face.

"I like you Dean, a lot. But, I can't allow myself to get carried away. I won't allow myself to get carried away." She said firmly but with a smile. "Is that okay with you? I know some guys are freaked out by that." She asked.

Honestly, Dean wasn't sure. He wasn't sure how he was feeling or what he was thinking. He was still in shock.

"Paige, I'm probably going to need some time to digest this." He wasn't sure what to say, he didn't want to push her away or make her feel bad about the decision that she has made. But, Dude, whose a virgin these days?

She smiled and nodded; then stood up to get ready to leave. This put a bit of a damper on the evening. But both parties recovered slightly on the ride home in the limo where Dean and Paige cuddled and he gave her gentle kisses on her eye lids, nose and mouth.

Arriving back at the mansion, Dean opened the limo door for Paige and they walked hand in hand to the front door, where Paige stood on tippy toes, while wrapping her hands around Dean's neck pulled herself up to kiss him. By default Dean slid his hands around her waist and pulled her up. They parted with an open mouth kiss. She smiled at him and said good night. He watched her walk down the front path back to the limo, blue dress falling around her curves and in response to this his trousers became uncomfortably tight.

Crap he thought as he opened the door, I'm falling for a virgin! Dude, there's no way!

He closed the door behind him and as he did so his ears were assaulted by yelling in the living room. Dean rushed in to see two guys, Aaron and Peter, lying on the floor in excruciating pain. The other guys were hovering above them, yelling questions at them. Eric and Sasha were particularly loud with their question posing. Finally, Elijah stepped up, "Guys, Eric, Sasha, will you go get help from the camera crew. I think these guys might need a doctor."

"What happened?" Dean asked with concern, looking at the guys writhing on the floor.

Elijah responded, "Dude, we were hanging out having a couple of drinks and all of a sudden these two started screaming bloody murder and fell to the floor in agonizing pain."

Dean surveyed the scene seeing that blood was trickling from both of their mouths and both guys had rolled their eyes back into their heads in a seeming seizure. Was this a sign that this was paranormal? Or had they ingested poison? Dean wasn't sure. Taking his eyes from the bloody scene before him he looked for Sam and found him in the corner with AJ. They exchanged knowing glances. This could be the supernatural fugly they had come to annihilate.

Eric and Sasha came running back into the room with two crew members and a nurse, Sally, Dean thought her name was. The nurse tried to converse with Aaron and Peter, but words were almost impossible. She called for an ambulance from her cell phone and about 15 minutes later Aaron and Peter were being rushed to hospital.

The rest of the guys, Ridge included, sat in the living room in a bit of a daze.

"What the hell?" Andrew asked.

"I don't know," responded John.

"Anybody want a drink?" Eric asked heading to the bar.

"I'll have a beer," Dean responded and a few of the other guys chimed in that they would as well.

Sam stood up, "Let me help you, Eric."

As Eric pulled out bottles and placed them on the bar, Sam opened them. Sam stopped, "Hey what were Aaron and Peter drinking?" he asked the crowd gathered there.

There were a few shoulders shrugged and 'I don't knows' when Cyrus said, "I think they were drinking Jack, Blue Label? Weren't they AJ?" he asked turning to AJ sitting beside them.

"Yah, I think they were, yah, yah, they were." AJ affirmed.

"Where are their glasses? We should have them analysed," Sam said with authority. A few of the guys exchanged looks, "You thinking they were poisoned, Sam?" Michael asked.

"Could be, if they were the only two drinking JD Blue, then maybe?" Sam shrugged his shoulders.

"But, who would want to poison Aaron and Peter?" Eric asked.

"That's a good question," Dean added, "Maybe someone who wants to win this game really, really badly." He pointedly looked at Ridge.

Ridge glowered at Dean, but said nothing.

"Well, let's wait and see what they tell us. There is no point speculating with little proof of anything." Sam said again. He seemed to be taking the lead in this situation and some of the other guys were uncomfortable with that.

Ridge, Michael, John, Sasha and Andrew trickled out and made their way to bed. The rest of the guys finished off their beers in relative silence. The events of the evening foremost in their minds that nobody thought to ask Dean how his date with Paige went. That was no skin off Dean's nose as he wasn't sure how the date went. He still had to sort out how he was feeling about a 'virgin Paige the Babe'.

The last of the guys went to bed leaving Sam and Dean in the living room. Silence hung comfortably between them. Sam finally broke it when he knew everyone else was out of earshot range.

"Hey Dean, how was your date?"

Dean smirked, "More important things to deal with now Sammy." He looked at his brother, pausing, "It wasn't bad, thanks for asking." Dean finally said.

Sam cocked his head in confusion.

"Don't worry about it Sam. Let's focus on this situation here. Did you get to talk to Bucky boy?" Dean asked tying to lighten the mood.

"Yah, but it was weird Dean. It was like he wasn't really there and then he was. I mean I would ask him questions and he would space out and then come right back and look me in the eye and answer them. There is something going on with him, that's for sure," Sam said with confidence.

"But, it may not be our kinda something, Sam. He may just be grieving still?" Dean said trying to look at it from all perspectives.

"Yah, it could, but I don't know. We are coming up empty and this guy seems to be our only lead." Sam said looking directly at Dean pleading his case.

"Okay, Sammy, let's wait and see what they tell us tomorrow. We'll have more information to continue our search." With that Dean stood up, "Dude, I'm gonna hit the sack. You coming?"

Sam smirked, refraining from making a comment on Dean's seemingly innocent invite, "No, man, I have to think. I'm missing something and it will bug me until I remember what it is. You sleep well, see you tomorrow."

With that Dean headed upstairs to bed. And Sam sat alone in the large living room wracking his brain for the clue that eluded him.


End file.
